


Of The Loveless

by ringofdoubt



Series: Kinloch Stories [2]
Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types
Genre: Age Difference, Blood Magic, Circle Politics, Copious Amounts of Backstory, Gen, Kinloch Hold, M/M, Mages (Dragon Age), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rated 'M' for later chapters, Templars (Dragon Age)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-17
Updated: 2020-06-17
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:01:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,143
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24772789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ringofdoubt/pseuds/ringofdoubt
Summary: Enchanter Karl Thekla's speech to the Libertarian meeting doesn't go as planned, but the apprentice listening from the back of the room seems to think he did a pretty good job ...
Relationships: Anders/Karl Thekla
Series: Kinloch Stories [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1791661
Comments: 5
Kudos: 4





	Of The Loveless

**Author's Note:**

> This is technically a prequel to 'A Blind Eye' but you absolutely don't need to have read that for this to make sense!

_**9:27 Dragon** _

Karl began nervously rubbing his chin, momentarily surprised by the rough texture of the stubble – he must have forgotten to shave this morning. _Great,_ now he was concerned not only about making an arse of himself during this speech but also that he was going to look like he’d just rolled out of bed. He briefly considered growing a beard purely so retroactively the stubble would look intentional.

 _Focus Thekla,_ he told himself, ending any further pondering over facial hair and turning his attention back to the mage at the podium. Once she was finished the introductory remarks, it would be his turn.

The Fraternities were, Karl was well-aware, largely a waste of time. The Libertarians – doubly so. There was an absurdity in gathering to bicker over the minutiae of hypothetical freedoms they were never going to win – all the while being watched by fully armour templars standing to attention outside the meeting room doors. Still, his wider philosophical objections to the situation did not stop the anxiety thrumming through Karl’s veins as he prepared to address the room. Plus, it was better to do something than nothing, even if its only purpose was to lessen his feelings of complicity. 

The mage finished speaking and Karl took his place at the podium. He delivered the first few sentences of his pre-prepared speech in a nervous monotone but before long he found the conviction of his beliefs overpowered any stage fright. He found his rhythm and before long had the room hanging on his every word.

“Templars are not allies. Not in any way. They will never be our allies. They are men and women who chose to, at best, oversee and at worst, inflict the constant torment and indignities we suffer.”

Murmurs of approval rippled through the audience – until a familiar dissenting voice cut through.

“The templars are a tool like any other,” heads all turned to the back of the crowd to see Uldred who had gotten up from his seat to deliver his heckle.

Of course, any meeting of the Libertarians was packed with loyal supporters of Uldred, who filled the room with shouts of approval. Uldred continued,

“Every action taken by a templar against a mage has been sanctioned by the Chantry – it is the Chantry that dictates our lives - just as it dictates the templars lives -," 

The noise swelled again with jeering, though it was harder to discern who was shouting in agreement and who in disagreement.

“You will get your turn to speak, Enchanter,” chastised the meeting’s chairwoman but Uldred was not deterred. Instead, he clambered past the other mages seated in his row and made his way through the crowd, towards the podium.

“Enchanter Thekla would have you focus all your energy despising the templars. I say a templar without the Chantry is a spider without its poison. Harmless – if still, admittedly, unpleasant to look at. 

That earned him a laugh from the room and Karl could feel himself losing the crowd. Uldred was only inches away from him now, and Karl realised his speech was about to become a debate. A debate he had no intention of losing.

“Harmless? Harmless he says-,” Karl clutched the sides of the podium with both hands, supporting his weight as he lent forward, “But how many of you know, personally _know,_ that that isn’t true. I refuse to believe there is a single one of us here who has not been threatened, or outright assaulted by a templar.”

Another round of murmuring, though noticeably quieter this time. But no one spoke up to correct him. None of them truthfully could.

“This conversation isn’t about airing personal grievances,” Uldred continued steadily.

Karl shot him a look so filled with anger that it would have given pause to any opponent, except Uldred.

“It’s true, we could all point to one templar or another who has wronged us, who is perhaps too quick to indulge their sadistic side – but that does not undermine my wider point. After all, without the Chantry behind them, recruiting them, supplying them – would any such templar be a match for a mage?”

Karl continued to address the crowd rather than Uldred directly, which hopefully reminded them that it was Karl they were supposed to be listening to right now.

“Enchanter Uldred is a well-respected member of this fraternity, which makes it all the more baffling to me that he could be so naïve.”

“Order!” shouted the chairwoman as the noise rose to an unacceptable level. The crowd were not silence but neither was Karl, who raised his voice enough to be heard above them,

“It is naivety, pure and simple. All this talk of ‘ _if there were no Chantry’_ is absurd - does the Enchanter believe we mages, from this medium sized meeting room, could topple the Chantry? The Maker himself?”

Below him, Karl saw a smirk spread across Uldred’s face,

“It seems Enchanter Thekla has forgotten the story of the Magisters Sidereal.”

The blasphemous quip had the crowd roaring with laughter.

And so, they went on. Their back and forth continued for the rest of the hour – another unproductive points-scoring session between two of the tower’s most ardent Libertarians.

Afterwards, as Karl finally moved to step down from the podium, the crowd applauded - though again, it was hard to tell whether it was him or Uldred that they cheered for. From the back of the room, Karl heard someone whooping his name a little too loudly. He scanned the crowd until he found the source of the sound. Leaning against the back wall was a blond apprentice. They locked eyes for a second until someone moved between them. By the time the line of sight was clear again, the young man had gone.

An apprentice at a fraternity meeting was an unusual sight. Naturally, the apprentices might have their privately held beliefs but they were not allowed to officially join any fraternity until they had passed their Harrowing. Although, if Karl was correct, and the blond apprentice was who he thought – then rules would not be a big concern for the tower’s serial escape artist.

He thought no more about it though as Uldred approached him with his hand outstretched.

“You held your own well today.”

Karl shook his hand, resisting the urge to knee the patronising, arrogant bastard right in the crotch for derailing a speech he’d spent the last week writing.

“I was not expecting such extensive audience participation.”

They parted ways, both men’s faces displaying a matching grimace.

A few more people shook Karl’s hand, some offering praise, others wanting to continue the debate. All he wanted to do was leave the meeting and head for a long evening soak in his bathtub. Bickering with Uldred always left him drained, annoyed, and with a vague sense of wanting to scrub himself clean. 

**Author's Note:**

> This is going to be my take on Karl and Anders' relationship.  
> Title comes from the song 'Love of the Loveless' by Eels because I'm trashy and will take any opportunity to name fics after song lyrics. 
> 
> I was only planning on posting this after I'd finished 'A Blind Eye' but I've hit a bit of a block with the last chapters of that - so in lieu of those updates, I've posted this early instead. 
> 
> Let me know what you thought?


End file.
